David Carr Stands Up to Fox News

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In this morning’s Times, media writer David Carr lashes back at Fox News after they bullied his little buddy Jacques Steinberg last week. On July 2, the network aired a bizarrely PhotoShopped photograph of Steinberg during a segment in which they accused him and his editor at the Times, Steven Reddicliffe, of having a bias against Fox. (See above clip.) The hosts of Fox & Friends said that Radar had originally reported the Times’ bias, but that’s actually nottrue.

At any rate, the PhotoShopping, which Carr saw as anti-Semitic, was enough to make him pen a column exposing the ruthless manner in which Fox News publicists treat the rest of the media. “At Fox News, media relations is a kind of rolling opposition research operation intended to keep reporters in line by feeding and sometimes maiming them,” writes Carr. “Shooting the occasional messenger is baked right into the process.”

We were not surprised to read this. Last month we actually felt moved to send an e-mail to Fox News publicists to ask them to stop sending us relentless (sometimes baseless) negative items about CNBC, MSNBC, and their on-air talent. We told them we’d prefer to receive positive tips about Fox News than ones filled with bile about their competitors. Plus, we know for a fact that other blogs, similar to ours, get exactly the same kindof tips from FoxNews.

Poor David Carr knows their wrath will be turned against him next. Luckily, he thinks he’s immune. “With a face made out of potatoes, the PhotoShopped picture of me [which they will run on air] will have to go a long way to make me any uglier than I actuallyam.”